Fastway Couriers' turnover reaches $458m

Date AddedAugust 04, 2009 11:00:57 AM

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The Fastway group of companies has announced an annual turnover of $458 million for 2008 to 2009 despite trying economic times, a rise from the previous year's turnover of $441 million.

Australian chief operating officer of the franchise transport business Richard Thame said the global financial crisis had brought mixed results.

"A positive spin off has been the preparedness of businesses to change to another supplier if a better service and price mix can be achieved. We've gained some large customers because of this, whereas a year ago they probably wouldn't have considered comparing suppliers or changing," he said.

However he added that some existing customers are sending lower volumes of freight.

The Fastway strategy has been to bring a strong focus back to its basic business model and drive this through every level of the franchise network.

"We've been retraining staff and franchisees in our core sales and marketing procedures, and we've kept our marketing simple and clearly targeted on key areas that we know we are best at," said Thame. "Not only is it working for us now, but we will be that much better poised for ongoing growth when the economy becomes more buoyant."

The franchise arm of Fastway Couriers has experienced an ever stronger upwards shift since the financial crisis, which Thame puts down to redundancies and cut backs creating interest in franchise opportunities.

"We've not only had an increase in franchise enquiries throughout our global network, we've also seen a higher number of prospective franchisees proceed."

Thame added, "In fact in Australia we are almost fully franchised, with far less opportunities available than we had a year ago."

Fastway Global began operating in Pretoria, South Africa this year and the opening of its Johannesburg regional franchise set for a September launch.

Plans for Fastway in the coming year include a continuation of their current back to basics strategy, and ongoing development of technological tools to enhance and aid the customer experience as well as streamline franchisee procedures.

"Our board is fully committed to ongoing technological development and this year is no exception," Thame said.

Started in New Zealand Fastway is the world's largest courier franchise, with more than 1600 franchisees across Australia, Ireland, the UK, Germany, and South Africa.